The two maps below show an island, before and after the construction of some tourist facilities.
Sample Response
The two presented maps depict the transformation of an island after the establishment of various tourist infrastructures. In general, the island was a bare land with a beach and some trees but now it is more tourists friendly after being renovated with several prominent changes. Looking at the details, before being renovated, the island was certainly a vacant lot with a beach on the west side. In contrast, after reconstruction, the plain island has been converted into an attractive tourist destination. Some accommodation buildings, food courts, a reception, a dock are present now. The dock enables ships to stand in. Furthermore, the beach turns to swimming area that was not utilised before the constructions. Besides, footpath and vehicle tracks also outline a noticeable difference in fact. There were no such tracks before renewal, but now several tracks had been built. These improvements make the view of the island more promising and fascinating.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use uncountable infrastructure Original: infrastructures Suggested revision: infrastructure Why it matters: 'Infrastructure' is normally uncountable when referring collectively to facilities.
- 2. Describe the island accurately Original: a bare land Suggested revision: largely undeveloped Why it matters: The original island contained a beach and trees, so 'bare land' is inaccurate and unnatural here.
- 3. Form the compound adjective Original: tourists friendly Suggested revision: tourist-friendly Why it matters: The compound adjective uses singular 'tourist' and a hyphen.
- 4. Clarify the redevelopment Original: after being renovated with several prominent changes Suggested revision: following the addition of several tourist facilities Why it matters: The revision states the cause of the transformation directly and naturally.
- 5. Use precise map language Original: before being renovated Suggested revision: before redevelopment Why it matters: 'Redevelopment' describes the construction shown on the second map more precisely than 'renovated'.
- 6. Avoid an inaccurate description Original: certainly a vacant lot Suggested revision: largely undeveloped Why it matters: The first map still shows a beach and several groups of trees, so the island was not a vacant lot.
- 7. Add the possessive reference Original: on the west side Suggested revision: on its western side Why it matters: The possessive determiner makes the location clearly refer to the island.
- 8. Use an evidence-based description Original: the plain island Suggested revision: the previously undeveloped island Why it matters: 'Previously undeveloped' accurately contrasts the two maps without adding a subjective description.
- 9. Fix tense and article Original: the beach turns to swimming area Suggested revision: the beach has become a swimming area Why it matters: The present perfect and indefinite article are required to describe the completed change.
- 10. Use uncountable construction Original: before the constructions Suggested revision: before construction Why it matters: 'Construction' is uncountable when referring to the overall building work.
- 11. Use a formal linker Original: Besides Suggested revision: In addition Why it matters: 'In addition' links another map feature more naturally in this report.
- 12. Use the plural noun Original: footpath Suggested revision: footpaths Why it matters: The map shows several separate footpaths, so the countable noun should be plural.
Suggested Rewrites
- infrastructures infrastructure
- a bare land largely undeveloped
- tourists friendly tourist-friendly
- after being renovated with several prominent changes following the addition of several tourist facilities
- before being renovated before redevelopment
- certainly a vacant lot largely undeveloped
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response’s strongest feature is that it identifies most of the major additions and conveys the island’s overall conversion into a tourist destination. However, the description remains general, includes an inaccurate reference to multiple food courts, and omits important spatial relationships and the undeveloped eastern area. Prioritise organising the details by location and explaining how the pier, reception, restaurant, accommodation clusters, paths, and swimming beach are connected.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The main transformation and several facilities are identified, but coverage of layout and spatial relationships is limited and occasionally inaccurate.
Describe the two accommodation clusters, transport links, retained eastern area, and single restaurant precisely from the map.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response has a discernible overview-to-detail progression, although linking is sometimes mechanical and the details are loosely grouped.
Group the after-map features by western, central, and eastern areas to create a clearer progression.
Lexical Resource
There is adequate topic vocabulary and some less common wording, but frequent collocational imprecision reduces naturalness.
Use precise map language such as ‘pier’, ‘restaurant’, ‘vehicle track’, and ‘pedestrian path’ instead of vague or inaccurate alternatives.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures conveys the meaning, though article, agreement, word-form, and tense errors recur.
Check noun phrases and agreement carefully, especially forms such as ‘tourist-friendly’, ‘a swimming area’, and plural subject-verb combinations.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The two maps below show an island, before and after the construction of some tourist facilities.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.